Illegal Gold Trade Worth 340 Million Soums Stopped in Navoi

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The illegal trade of gold worth 340 million soums has been halted in the city of Navoi. During a special operation, officers from the State Security Service and the Department for Combating Economic Crimes detained two residents of the Shafirkan district of the Bukhara region, born in 1987 and 1993.

The raid was conducted as part of the "Safe and Healthy Country" operational and preventive measures.

According to law enforcement agencies, the men agreed to sell 212.9 grams of gold bars to a buyer for 340 million soums.

During the transaction, the sellers handed over 26.3 grams of 999-purity gold to the buyer, stating that they would deliver the remaining portion later. They were apprehended upon receiving US$20,000 and 100 million soums from the buyer. Physical evidence was seized from them at the scene.

Additionally, law enforcement officers established that one of the detainees had set up an underground workshop in his home to extract gold from sand.

A criminal case has been opened against the detainees under paragraph "a" of Part 4 of Article 177 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan.

Investigative proceedings are ongoing.